Kanu’s final wish for Eagles

Former Super Eagles captain, Nwankwo Kanu, who weekend retired from international football, has  said that the national team should grant him one final wish, which is to start winning trophies.

In an interview with Sports Vanguard, Kanu, whose international career spanned from 1994-2010, said that the decision to retire international football, which brought him so much fame and joy, did not come easy because of the passion which he attaches to the round leather game. He admitted that he wanted to keep playing for Nigeria but his body was unable to carry the challenges.
The 34 year-old former Arsenal and Ajax forward, said that he was going to have a sweet time in retirement if and only if the Eagles start winning continental and internationaltrophies, starting with  the Africa Cup of Nations, which the country last won in 1994 in Tunisia.

The testimonial match in honour of Nwankwo Kanu former captain of the Super Eagles held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos. Group photograph of the teams that played the match, Super Eagles beat Friends of Kanu 3-1. Photo by Sylva Eleanya.

Nigeria are presently struggling to qualify for the tournament,  to be co-hosted by  Equatorial Guinea and Gabon and need to win their next two games against Madagascar and Guinea, who presently top group B with 10 points, three more than the Eagles.

“Honestly, I wanted to keep playing but just could not keep up with challenges anymore. I enjoyed my years in the game and my only wish as I bow out finally is that the Super Eagles should start winning trophies again.
“We can only call our team Super if we are winning trophies. Trophies are what determine the success of a team and the fact that we have not won trophies since 1994, it is a clear indication of where our football is. The only way I can enjoy this retirement is for the team to start winning trophies.
“We need to win the next Nations Cup and think of winning the World Cup also. These things are not out of reach if we are serious. We won gold medal at the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996, so I believe if we are determined we can also win the World Cup trophy”, added Kanu, on the sidelines of the testimonial match put together for him at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos.